Xmas / New Years Racing

[Huey]

Half the card at Taranaki won't pay 3 civvies on the tote. Racing for northern trainers?

[SLB2.0]

Crowd looks tiny at Ellerslie? Anyone there to comment?

[Chief Stipe]

37 minutes ago, SLB2.0 said:

Crowd looks tiny at Ellerslie? Anyone there to comment?

Who cares on course?  Old school metric of success.  Enjoy the racing.

Obviously you're not on course.

[curious]

12 minutes ago, Chief Stipe said:

Who cares on course?  Old school metric of success. 

The clubs probably do re their oncourse turnover %

[Chief Stipe]

26 minutes ago, curious said:

The clubs probably do re their oncourse turnover %

Well then they need to work together and negotiate a better deal.   It's irrelevant now.  As you said most of the attendees at Flemington Melbourne Cup Day don't bet!!  Not that I believe that.

[SLB2.0]

1 hour ago, Chief Stipe said:

Who cares on course?  Old school metric of success.  Enjoy the racing.

Obviously you're not on course.

Obviously....

[Murray Fish]

2 hours ago, Chief Stipe said:

Who cares on course?  Old school metric of success.  Enjoy the racing.

Obviously you're not on course.

(from the cheap seats) I actually thought that the 'public stand' looked to well used!  Wish I was their! Did find the winner of the distance maid... yee ha!

Very keen now for the the G1 

talking 'old school': interesting to hear comments from talking heads at the other meetings, talking about how both days being important historical days, umm!  Boxing day use to be Massive at Awapuni, and that date has held its own!  it will be interesting to see who gets the date next season?  Wingatui,  is now 'no byo', umm.. hence the crowds...

[Shad]

Big fixed odds divvy up there by a gray trained horse, in a small field, wouldn't have minded some of that,

[TAB For Ever]

8 hours ago, SLB2.0 said:

Crowd looks tiny at Ellerslie? Anyone there to comment?

As usually the case in recent years Aucklanders have deserted the place , for the Coromandel and Bay Of Islands ...one in 3 x households own a boat/craft !

Then for the other 50% Immigrants and those with absolutely no racing DNA at all and trying to stretch their money sensibly in a time of high inflation there are the Retail SALES with many massive ,genuine price reductions. 

I walked in CBD this morning ,it was quieter than during COVID lockdown yet Dressmart Mall was chaos.......most stores had 40% or 50% or 60% off everything in shop even expensive essential for school items like laptops. !

Max out the credit card , no cash for racehorses running around a small track .

Thankfully , there were enough Waikato enthusiasts and horse racing tragics like me to enjoy a FANTASTIC days racing ,which I feel deserves its own thread on here ,.

It would be a shame if my summary of the day was discoloured by the knockers ....I'm surprised you weren't there Sunline !

[Chief Stipe]

5 hours ago, TAB For Ever said:

As usually the case in recent years Aucklanders have deserted the place , for the Coromandel and Bay Of Islands ...one in 3 x households own a boat/craft !

Yet in another post you said there was 12,000+ on course.

[SLB2.0]

7 hours ago, TAB For Ever said:

As usually the case in recent years Aucklanders have deserted the place , for the Coromandel and Bay Of Islands ...one in 3 x households own a boat/craft !

Then for the other 50% Immigrants and those with absolutely no racing DNA at all and trying to stretch their money sensibly in a time of high inflation there are the Retail SALES with many massive ,genuine price reductions. 

I walked in CBD this morning ,it was quieter than during COVID lockdown yet Dressmart Mall was chaos.......most stores had 40% or 50% or 60% off everything in shop even expensive essential for school items like laptops. !

Max out the credit card , no cash for racehorses running around a small track .

Thankfully , there were enough Waikato enthusiasts and horse racing tragics like me to enjoy a FANTASTIC days racing ,which I feel deserves its own thread on here ,.

It would be a shame if my summary of the day was discoloured by the knockers ....I'm surprised you weren't there Sunline !

The CBD was dead yesterday morning, which is just how I like it

Picked up later in the day with the Boxing Day sales, but enjoying the city with less people in it atm.

[TAB For Ever]

On 12/27/2024 at 4:42 AM, Chief Stipe said:

Yet in another post you said there was 12,000+ on course.

Don't be a grinch Chief........I never said there was 12k +.

Yet another big meeting has gone by...ditto NZ Cup week with little feedback re the race day experience.

Kinda confirms that us keyboard warriors are in the main TV trackside viewers .
 I hope you can get your phone bets on from  oncourse Motukarara Trots this year or are you too chasing the Mall retail sales or out in your boat ?

[Chief Stipe]

4 hours ago, TAB For Ever said:

Don't be a grinch Chief........I never said there was 12k +.

Ok you said 8 to 12k

Quote: "Today I counted 8000 then gave up so I'd guess between 8 - 12 k there.  Perfect size IMO"
 

I guess they were the @curious types - not there for the racing or the punting but the entertainment.

 

 

[Special Agent]

I wonder what emphasis clubs around the country are putting into getting crowds on course.

At this time of the year you'd think it would be easy.

Through the season we've seen that public does not turn out for the quality fields. Now it seems crowds are not flocking to the track for summertime entertainment.  So what needs looking at?  Is the no BYO ideal adopted by some clubs having an effect?  Are gate prices and/or catering too high?  Is catering not up to scratch?  Are clubs ignoring community engagement?

Or, have the race meetings not been yet where the real clubs and committees will show how it's done?

[curious]

1 hour ago, Special Agent said:

I wonder what emphasis clubs around the country are putting into getting crowds on course.

At this time of the year you'd think it would be easy.

Through the season we've seen that public does not turn out for the quality fields. Now it seems crowds are not flocking to the track for summertime entertainment.  So what needs looking at?  Is the no BYO ideal adopted by some clubs having an effect?  Are gate prices and/or catering too high?  Is catering not up to scratch?  Are clubs ignoring community engagement?

Or, have the race meetings not been yet where the real clubs and committees will show how it's done?

Good crowd at Timaru today. This was after the second race so early in the build up to the cup.

[Chief Stipe]

38 minutes ago, curious said:

Good crowd at Timaru today. This was after the second race so early in the build up to the cup.

The whips are cracking!!

[Doomed]

Bloody good field for the Cup as well. Better than many black types races in the north. And a deserved winner, a classy 1,600m specialist. They will almost certainly be too arrogant to ever promote it back to listed status regardless of the quality of the fields.

[Bloke]

On 26/12/2024 at 10:55 PM, TAB For Ever said:

As usually the case in recent years Aucklanders have deserted the place , for the Coromandel and Bay Of Islands ...one in 3 x households own a boat/craft !

Then for the other 50% Immigrants and those with absolutely no racing DNA at all and trying to stretch their money sensibly in a time of high inflation there are the Retail SALES with many massive ,genuine price reductions. 

I walked in CBD this morning ,it was quieter than during COVID lockdown yet Dressmart Mall was chaos.......most stores had 40% or 50% or 60% off everything in shop even expensive essential for school items like laptops. !

Max out the credit card , no cash for racehorses running around a small track .

Thankfully , there were enough Waikato enthusiasts and horse racing tragics like me to enjoy a FANTASTIC days racing ,which I feel deserves its own thread on here ,.

It would be a shame if my summary of the day was discoloured by the knockers ....I'm surprised you weren't there Sunline !

Good to see you posting again Tab. I don't agree much with you, but you have an interesting way of presenting your case.

When you get a Club advertising by showing Posers and A Listers holding onto wine glasses you put 95% of potential race goers out of their comfort zone so all you are going to get on course are mainly The Posers and A Listers

[Huey]

3 hours ago, Special Agent said:

I wonder what emphasis clubs around the country are putting into getting crowds on course.

At this time of the year you'd think it would be easy.

Through the season we've seen that public does not turn out for the quality fields. Now it seems crowds are not flocking to the track for summertime entertainment.  So what needs looking at?  Is the no BYO ideal adopted by some clubs having an effect?  Are gate prices and/or catering too high?  Is catering not up to scratch?  Are clubs ignoring community engagement?

Or, have the race meetings not been yet where the real clubs and committees will show how it's done?

It's a given this time of year, the crowds will come no matter what quality of horse you have running. Many a club over emphasizes their success through such meetings.

[TAB For Ever]

3 hours ago, Bloke said:

Good to see you posting again Tab. I don't agree much with you, but you have an interesting way of presenting your case.

When you get a Club advertising by showing Posers and A Listers holding onto wine glasses you put 95% of potential race goers out of their comfort zone so all you are going to get on course are mainly The Posers and A Listers

Seasons Greetings Bloke , great to know I have follower....was beginning to think that my only friend was Chief [ plus Gamma in Harness ].

Wouldn't it be boring if everyone acted and thought the same way ?

An interesting thought re perceptions re racing especially around adverts with posers and eye candy featuring....I've read a bit on peoples thoughts re this.

The most famous and iconic race meetings in the world with the biggest crowds [ Kumara and Birdsville exceptions ], definitely have a DRESS CODE ,more attune to A-Listers and posers in the best and most popular areas of the course eg Epsom ,Cheltenham , Randwick , Flemington ,Caulfield etc etc. Even Members are turned away if the men dont present with Jacket and tie. First time at Victorian Derby day on a sweltering day there were even signs saying men could not take their jacket off. 

And I think people enjoy dressing up for a decent day at Races  and many of the crowd enjoy seeing a bit of fashion...and the days of rugby ,racing and beer are well gone ....more people enjoy wine and there is also a coffee culture out there away from 'bloke land'.

Ive been involved with some feedback groups and I do think your 'poser' and a-lister negativity well off the mark. In the not too distant past I was villified in my community for being seen in the local TAB's ....I don't think it was anything to do with the fact I only showered monthly ,worse muddy gumboots and shorts with the arse hanging out of them.Not only was gambling seen as bad but horse racing was seen as corrupt by significant % of population . This basically led to the hurried arrival of the RIB around 2011.

Research and feedback from participants is often interesting....I've done a lot around sports and sports clubs. Often the old stale gray males who run clubs believe they run a good club while the younger members especially females think they are shit and leave in droves or refuse to join.

I've seen so much of it .......

[Gammalite]

8 hours ago, TAB For Ever said:

And I think people enjoy dressing up for a decent day at Races  and many of the crowd enjoy seeing a bit of fashion...and the days of rugby ,racing and beer are well gone

Glad you are all set to enjoy another Karaka Day TABman. and have a great day out like last year.

I was just saying on another channel that the Boys Get Paid tickets are just $150 , very cheap for all and sundry, for what they get. and are sure to have a Fab day out . and they Really support the racing on the day too.

A lot of the Australian race days have Massive Functions , with the youngsters dressing up, music concert stuff is on , and the socializing stuff is on, but they forget the racing is on altogether. As the new Gen aren't into horses like we are/were as the older blokes (and lasses). Indeed my kids and their friends who attended things like 'Showday races' in Brissy races and that said they didn't even see a horse on the day . I guess that is because of the setup on location I spose, keeping them separate on course I imagine.

Seems so much better NZ , where the Auckland Racing Club gets the 'visitors in the stand' and enjoying the RACING experience. and seems a great day is had by All (some oldies might of lost a seat in the grandstand or something) But they get to see all the Newbies having a great day out which is so good to see. 

Hey , get the right Brand of Beer (try and Aussie one)  , and also try and WIN the Rugby world Cup mate , and the great days of Rugby Racing and Beer will be Back . don't write off just yet 😁🏆🏇🏇💰.

p.s the cricket going well  for NZ with Blackcaps smacking the Indians 3 zip in India tests recently. Aussie Baggie Greens are trying to copy , but are struggling a bit to match that supreme kiwi effort at the moment . 

And with the mighty Lions winning the AFL this year, the song should be,  it's AFL,cricket, racing and beer for me .🤣 

[TAB For Ever]

7 hours ago, Gammalite said:

Glad you are all set to enjoy another Karaka Day TABman. and have a great day out like last year.

I was just saying on another channel that the Boys Get Paid tickets are just $150 , very cheap for all and sundry, for what they get. and are sure to have a Fab day out . and they Really support the racing on the day too.

A lot of the Australian race days have Massive Functions , with the youngsters dressing up, music concert stuff is on , and the socializing stuff is on, but they forget the racing is on altogether. As the new Gen aren't into horses like we are/were as the older blokes (and lasses). Indeed my kids and their friends who attended things like 'Showday races' in Brissy races and that said they didn't even see a horse on the day . I guess that is because of the setup on location I spose, keeping them separate on course I imagine.

Seems so much better NZ , where the Auckland Racing Club gets the 'visitors in the stand' and enjoying the RACING experience. and seems a great day is had by All (some oldies might of lost a seat in the grandstand or something) But they get to see all the Newbies having a great day out which is so good to see. 

Hey , get the right Brand of Beer (try and Aussie one)  , and also try and WIN the Rugby world Cup mate , and the great days of Rugby Racing and Beer will be Back . don't write off just yet 😁🏆🏇🏇💰.

p.s the cricket going well  for NZ with Blackcaps smacking the Indians 3 zip in India tests recently. Aussie Baggie Greens are trying to copy , but are struggling a bit to match that supreme kiwi effort at the moment . 

And with the mighty Lions winning the AFL this year, the song should be,  it's AFL,cricket, racing and beer for me .🤣 

Cheers Gamma,

In early November I did Derby Day at Flemington and the guy I attend the gallops with in NZ [ no to trots ] recently did Randwick,Caulfield ,Scone [ he enjoyed the scones being given out !] plus some other NSW and Queensland lesser meetings so we compared notes.He too done a lot of big UK tracks !

Derby day is special ,put my wedding suit on and got out amongst the Roses. Spoke to some rough -diamond Aussie types both ways on the train and the pride/excitement that they showed in dressing up and getting to Flemington was very evident. The newish members stand is special and the place was packed .

They do it well.

Back home for Cup week I enjoyed Riccartons big day but really they short on covered areas and seating .Hence they encourage the boot parties , while down the straight they have the music and young folks. They squeezed a lot in. They cope !

Ellerslie I find very comfortable ...crowds nothing like the BYO days but generally everything is close and accessible...the stables ,parade ring ,racetrack etc

Those photos you see of the 1950's and 60's ...how many would have gone if the malls had 50% off everything.Must have been so uncomfortable , like the 1956 Rugby tests , find a spot ,stay put and piss where you please !

I didnt see many A-Listers there even stellar owner Hanger Lindsay who won the race he sponsored ,plus 2 x others , dressed quite casually . 

I did see the O'Sullivan lass [racing royalty] with pintsized All Black Damien McKenzie [Christs College]...can they produce NZ's smallest All Black or another Champion jockey !

All the best for 2025...Auckland Trotting Cup next up ,before New Years !